Just the facts of the case

There has been a ton of speculation, rumors and innuendo concerning the case of Frederick Dunn, the popular music teacher from North Rose. I have been asked several times during the week how I would approach the “truth” behind the who, what, where and why a teacher would excuse himself from play rehearsals and say he had some errands to perform, then end up deceased.

Dunn’s vehicle was found abandoned at the end of Dutch Street by the Lake Ontario shoreline that resulted in a 3 day search.
I knew quite a bit about the case from the beginning, but decided to withhold any information, until the body was found and I could confirm more details regarding this case.

So, how does one report the inside story without besmirching a popular teacher’s reputation? We debated for days how to approach this and my decision was to address it here in the editorial. I will not speculate, but rather print only FACTS.
Fact 1: Was Frederick Dunn about to be arrested by police.

No – he was asked to show up for an interview concerning an allegation made by an 18 year-old boy. The allegation was that Dunn had a sexual relationship with the boy that had been ongoing for several years, including when the boy was a juvenile. The interview was to be with Wayne County Sheriff’s Investigators, not State Police.

Fact 2: Dunn failed to show up for the police interview regarding the allegations of sexual abuse involving an underage child. Instead, he took his own life.

Fact 3: Dunn’s body was NOT found in the water as many had theorized. His body was found about 500 yards away from his abandoned vehicle. The reason police and searchers could not find the body in the first two days was due to harsh weather and blowing snow. The autopsy showed he died from hypothermia. Blood tests, to show if there were any drugs in his body, have not yet been performed and usually take some time.

Police do not believe there was foul play, or any other outside factor in Dunn’s death, other than suicide.
After the plain facts, all is speculation. There are hundreds of students who worshipped the teacher and others who have attacked anyone for bringing up, or suggesting anything negative about someone who has died. Obviously there was something very wrong.
The truth is that the whole story will probably never be known. Frederick Dunn made a decision to end his part of the play on a freezing, cold night, alone with his dark thoughts. By doing so he escaped an investigation that leaves more questions than answers. There are those out there, acquaintances and I suspect some family, who know the truth.

If there is/are any victims, their story will continue, probably not in the light of media, but for the rest of their lives. I hope any (alleged) victims seek the help they need.

As for those who worshipped Mr. Dunn, sometimes reality bites.

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